SeattlePorsche

Just for fun, here is a pictorial update of my front end fun. I want to update to turbo tie rods. I used a picklefork (photo)as Wayne's book suggested, but this took a long time and a ton of hammering. The torsion bar adjuster screw was bent on one side so I will replace them (photo). On the left side tie rod, the fork wasn't working at all. Then I saw a sign for rental tools at Schucks auto supply. They have free tools! They are actually two day rentals, with a deposit, but if I bring it back in two days, they refund everything. Couldn't believe it, but why would I argue (photo). I got the tie rod removal kit. I placed the tie rod separator on and used a socket wrench to tighten it down, and then pop, it was off. Way too easy (photo).

Yesterday I was depressed because the wedge bolt at the bottom of my strut was stuck despite wd40 and a ton of hammering with a ball peen. But I read last night that it helps to leave the wedge bolt nut partially on while you wail on it. Plus you don't destroy the soft steel. So today I tried it on the right side and in three bangs it was out. I was on a roll so I went to the other stuck side and bang it came out too. Probably yesterdays wd40.

Then I pulled forward and out the left a arm (2 photos). I lightly banged the rear end side of the torsion bar on the floor by lifting the entire a arm up and then down into some carpet on the garage floor and then the front dust cap came off. It could hit your eyes, so wear glasses.

I inspected the rubber of the front side and rear side bushings (photo) It is as assymmetric as the photo looks. It kind of looks like the rubber shrunk in there. I am replacing the bushings with polybronze when it arrives. The torsion bars look thicker than stock, so I guess the PO upgraded this for me.

I took the cotter pin out of the bottom of the ball joint. I will use the special tool to remove the bottom of the ball joint. (photo) I will put the a arm in a vise to do this. I will also torch the ends of the a arms to remove the old bushings. The left front suspension looks lonely now. Just a dangling strut (photo, the two jack stands in front are my emergency spare jacks). I can't get the top nut off of the strut in the trunk. If I can't do it tomorrow with a neighbors help using channel locks and a breaker bar, I may buy or rent an impact wrench.

My pelican parts also came this week and they are on my living room floor as motivation (photo). All in all a good week, considering I've never done this before. And I have the whole weekend to do more damage. I am thinking of spray painting various parts to get a detailed look (like the a arm, brake dust cap). Is this a lame idea? Tell me now. Thanks for listening. I know, I talk too much.

earlyapex

Thanks for the pictures and writeup.

If you have time, detailing your suspension is a nice thing. It may however lead to more detailing on the rest of the car!

theiceman

Well James looks like fun .. I may have missed something however, I replaced my Boge with Bilsteins, replaced wheel bearings, replaced pads and rotrs , and also replaced sway bar bushings but did not even touch the a arm .. are you replacing something more ?? like maybe your a - arm bushings ?

theiceman

I guess the point I am making is when you do the other side don't take your A arm out if you are just changing what I did , it is WAY faster....

r911

WD-40 is not designed to loosen bolts -- use Kroil or pb Blaster or some other penetrant next time.

Be sure to read the recent thd on Pelican re two types of wedge bolts.

SeattlePorsche

Yes, I have new elephant racing polybronze bushings coming in from pelican this week. I did a lot of research on the pelican site, and since this car is 25 years old, I am going to do it. At first I wasn't sure until I removed the A-arm, but after I inspected the rubber bushings in there, I decided that other peoples observations are correct, that is, if you are going to refresh the suspension the bushings should probably be replaced. My photo tried to show how the bushing looks assymetrical now, so I am sure that it is worn. I am also going to replace the ball joints. I have no way of determining if these are really worn via inspection, and they seem to pivot ok, but other have said they are critical to safety. There is a photo on the pelican BB of a ball joint pin (that goes into the bottom of the strut) shearing. Pelican BB guys recommended considering this change after 100k miles. Maybe the ball joint replacement is overkill, but they are cheap. The bigger decision is deciding if you want to try to remove the ball joint yourself, because it is torqued to super high specs. I am going to go for it. I bought the special tool to remove and replace the special bolt at the bottom of the ball joint; about 56 bucks. I have decided it is better to buy the right tools, within reason, as opposed to pay the 95$/hr mechanics fees in my area.

So really my front end will have new everything except the a-arm, strut and torsion bars. The torsion bars look extra thick - already upgraded for me. I think the total for all this is about 1000-1500$.

I bought a torch today from home depot and will heat the a arm ends to melt the rubber a little, and then try to pull off the metal sleeve covering the bushing. It is one of the pelican technical articles.

SeattlePorsche

I realize I need to find a can of PB blaster. I will get one today at the auto supply after I return the "free tools".

I did read the recent threads on the two kinds of wedge bolts. Wayne even chimed in that he didn't know why they are different now. There is a photo on that thread of the two different types.

For those that didn't see the thread, some have found that the new wedge bolts protrude about 1/8th of an inch from the strut, as opposed to being flush like the original. The Porsche workshop manual for the SC, page 2.1-1/4 says that the "installed position of the double-wedge is so that the retaining nut points forward in the direction of travel. The notch on the face of the double wedge piece and the wedge contour must point toward the wheel stub axle. Torque to 2.2 mkp (22 N.m)". So I wonder if the guys that had trouble getting it flush with the strut were slightly off on the orientation of the wedge bolt going in.

But I suspect it is just the difference in the bolts. When I ordered two of them (you are supposed to replace them regardless) Pelican wanted to sell me some that were OEM quality for 25 cents less, saying that the Porsche OEM cost more and would take 7 days to get in to them before they could deliver. I decided to go with the Porsche OEM ones for a quarter more. Thank you.

SeattlePorsche

Can anyone tell me how to get the roll pin out correctly from the bottom of the strut (bilstein)? Thanks.

SeattlePorsche

Well here is more of my adventure in the hopes that it might help another newbie like me in the future. The new front shock inserts came with new roll pins, so I realized I just needed to bang out the old ones with a punch. More new tools! I took the top nut off the strut with an impact wrench I bought from home depot. Electric. Another fun tool! I am looking for other stuff to impact upon. Haven't found anything yet.

I decided not to paint anything except maybe the strut dust cover. Stuff like the A-arm looks good just pressure washed underneath all that dirt. It'll get dirty again anyway (and it's under the car, but I got all this free time until parts arrive )

The tie rods were fun (I'm kidding, they were a PITA). But you definitely get better after the first one. The driver's side was the easiest to remove for me, because I could use the old tie rod, bend it down and then torque counterclockwise. The passenger side required one day of failure to remove, anger, and then trying again with 16 inch channel lock pliers then next evening. Putting the new ones in with loctite was easy. I measured the length of the old ones.

Here are some photos of my boot installation. Maybe this is how everyone does it, but I couldn't find it in advance. The proximal end of the boot slides on better with a little motor oil on the lip. To put the old spring on was a pain, but here is how I did the second tie rod after lots of trying with the first. I used a very small screwdriver and wedged it under the spring. Then I took two 3-foot pieces of string and slid it under and through the spring (photo). I pushed the boot into its final position. Then I pushed the strings outward about an inch from the screwdriver and then pulled the spring down until the front part of the spring was in position. Then I removed the screwdriver and pushed the strings toward the back with my finger (see photo) to about 3 and 9 o'clock, and then pulled down somemore. More spring in position.

The hardest part was this back part of the spring. The first time I tried to use my fingers only and bout had hernia. The second time I pushed the string with my finger as far back as I could. It is very tight under the spring now. The string is at about 2 and 10 o'clock. Then I took the ends of my stings and fed them back towards the other end of the tie rod and crisscrossed them for better leverage (photo). Then I crawled back under the car watching the spring, reached down to grab the crossed strings, and then pulled down until the back of the spring cleared the lip of the rack and settled into final position. Then I check it 360 degrees around for fit, and then pulled the strings out. Then I was done, and didn't have to use pliers, which I was afraid might cut and ruin the edge of the cover. (final photo)

Well that was about as tough to type as it is to install these little buggers. Hope this helps someone in the future. Thanks.

SeattlePorsche

I forgot to add photos.

theiceman

good work James

When I did mine i put a bit of sway arm bushing grease on the inside of the boot where it sits in the groove. I lifted a small piece of the spring over the boot and turned the whole boot and kept the screw driver stationary, this forced the spring on all the way around ( much like how you put a tyre on a rim ..

great pics though.

ice

arcsine

Since you are in that deep, I would be a good time to pull the steering rack, clean it and repack it with new grease and bearings. It is only two more bolts to remove and the steering shaft pinch clamp to loosen. Then you get to put everything on the bench to do the tie rods etc. There is a write-up on Pelican written by Tim Hancock that shows the procedure and parts that you can get for it.

SeattlePorsche

No, I'll leave the rack and pinion alone. If it's not broke, don't fix it, right?

The rack is very smooth right now. But thanks for the suggestion.